{"id":648467,"date":"2026-11-02T05:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/648467\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T05:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:36:09","slug":"nine-arrested-during-unacceptable-rugby-league-world-cup-celebrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/648467\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine arrested during ‘unacceptable’ Rugby League World Cup celebrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over-exuberant rugby league celebrations have seen nine arrested for disorder-related offences.<\/p>\n

Rugby League World Cup pool play reached a climax over the weekend, with a much-anticipated showdown between Tonga and Samoa, with both teams assured of progress to next week’s semifinals.<\/p>\n

Tonga prevailed 20-18 in a thriller<\/a> at Sydney, earning top spot in their pool and the right to face NZ Kiwis for a spot in the final. Samoa will take on champions Australia in the other semi, edging England on points differential.<\/p>\n

South Auckland police were kept busy controlling the emotions of tens of thousands of fans on this side of the Tasman, deploying 160 staff to the task on Sunday.<\/p>\n

“It was concerning for police to witness individuals putting themselves and others in harm’s way with high-risk behaviours, including running into roads, poor driving choices and public intoxication,” said Counties Manukau district commander Superintendent Shanan Gray.<\/p>\n

“In some areas, excessive noise from loudspeakers and car horns continued into the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n

“This is unacceptable, and it has a significant impact on the wellbeing of local residents and businesses.”<\/p>\n

On Saturday, police intervened, when hundreds of cars formed convoys<\/a> that blocked intersections and generated loud noise in Tauranga, as communities expressed their patriotism.<\/p>\n

Gray appealed to fans to think about how their actions impacted the community.<\/p>\n

“The message from police is clear – celebrations don’t override expectations,” he said. “Gatherings and those attending them must be safe, lawful and respectful.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over-exuberant rugby league celebrations have seen nine arrested for disorder-related offences. Rugby League World Cup pool play reached…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-648467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}